The Catcher in the Rye

Thursday, December 10, 2009

1. When Holden gets on the elevator, whom does he tell the operator he is going to visit?

He tells the operator that he was going to visit Dicksteins, who lived on the same floor with Holden's house.

2. Holden is very skillful at opening the door quietly. What profession does he say he should have gone into?

He says that he really should've been a crook.

3. When Holden enters the family apartment, how does he know for sure that he is in the right apartment?

Because their foyer always has a funny smell that doesn't smell like anyplace else.

4. How does Holden describe his mother’s hearing ability?

He says that his mother has ears like a bloodhound, and also he says that all you have to do his mother is cough somewhere in Siberia and she'll hear you.

5. Why does Phoebe not like her own room?

She doesn't like her own room, because she says that it's too little.

6. During the first few moments that he is in Phoebe’s room, Holden says something he has not said for many chapters. What is it?

He exaggerates a little bit. He says that he gets to Phoebe's room in an hour, and also that the bed in D.B.'s is 10 miles long and 10 miles wide.

7. Holden’s mother has outstanding tastes in what area?

She has outstanding tastes in clothes.

8. What kind of reading does Holden find very interesting?

In one of Phoebe's notebooks, he finds notes that Phoebe and her friends wrote.

9. How did Phoebe hurt her arm?

A boy in Phoebe's class pushed her while she was going down the stairs in the park.

10. What does Holden say that he may do now that he has been expelled from school?

He says that he may get a job on a ranch.

Chapter 22

1. To what does Holden compare Phoebe’s behavior when she finds out that he was expelled from Pencey?

He compares it to the fencing team at Pencey when he left all the equipments on the subway.

2. Where does Holden say that his father will send him when he learns that Holden has been expelled?

He says that his father will send him to the military school.

3. Even though Holden likes Mr. Spencer, why does he consider him a phony?

Because when the headmaster came into the History class and sit there. And a few minutes later, the headmaster starts doing a lot of corny jokes, and Mr. Spencer would kill himself chuckling and smiling.

4. What was the Pencey alumnus looking for when he came to Holden and Stradlater’s dorm?

He asked them if they'd mind if he used the bathroom. Also, he wanted to see if his initials were still in one of the can doors.

5. When Holden thinks about the nuns, what does he picture them doing?

He pictures them going around collecting dough in those beat-up old straw baskets.

6. Why did James Castle commit suicide?

Because seven dirty guys from the school locked the door of his room and did things that are too repulsive, because that James called one of the guys conceited. Finally, he jumped out of the window.

7. What was the topic of the only conversation that Holden remembers having with James Castle?

When Holden was brushing his teeth, he asked Holden if he can borrow his turtleneck sweater.

8. What habit of Holden’s does Phoebe wants him to change?

She wants Holden to change his cursing habit. She doesn't want him to curse.

9. What bothers Holden about becoming a lawyer?

When you are a lawyer, everybody congratulates you in the court when the trial was over. This way you wouldn't be able to know that if you really want to save people's lives, or if you really want to be a good lawyer, with everybody congratulating you.

10. Who is the author of “if a body meet a body coming through the rye?”

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

If girls like a boy, no matter how bad he is, they'll say he has an inferiority complex, and if they don't like him, no matter how nice a guy he is, they'll say he is conceited.

2) Where does Holden go to pass the time before meeting Carl Luce for a drink? Why is it surprising that he goes there?

He goes to the movies at Radio City. It was surprising because Holden hated the movies.

3) According to Holden, what about the show would Jesus hate, and why?

Jesus would hate all the fancy costumes, and also guys carrying crucifixes all over the place.

4) What is ironic about the behavior of the woman who sits next to Holden during the film? Is her behavior unusual or similar to that of other characters described by Holden?

She cried all through the movie, the phonier it got the more she cried. Also she wasn't even kindhearted because she was rude to his own child. It is similar to the other characters, because she is phony because she is pretending that she is kindhearted. And other characters are phony because of some other reasons.

5) Describe Holden’s and his brother D.B.’s attitudes toward war and the military.

D.B. hated the Army more than he hated the war, and also he said that the Army was full of dumb people. Holden also hates both of them, the war, and the Army. He says that he can't stand to wars, and to stay in the Army for a long time.

Chapter 19-20

6) Holden claims to admire Carl’s intellectual ability, but does he engage him in an intellectual conversation? What kinds of questions does Holden ask Carl?

No he doesn't engage him in an intellectual conversation. He asks Carl questions about sex and girls.

7) What does Holden see as the “trouble” with his attitude toward sex? How does this alleged problem manifest itself in his relationships with Jane, Sally, and other female characters?

He says that he can never get really sexy. Because of that he can't get into a relationship with females.

8) How does Carl respond to Holden’s requests for advice and companionship?

He asked him that what would his father do to him for psychoanalyze.

9) How does Holden’s fantasy about having a bullet wound in his stomach reflect his emotional state?

When he had the bullet fantasy before, he thought about Jane bandaging his wounds. And again, he thoughts about Jane and feels like giving her a buzz.

10) Why do you think Holden calls Sally, rather than Jane, when he is drunk?

Because when he got into the phone booth, he wasn't in the mood anymore to give Jane a buzz, because of he was too drunk.

11) Why does Holden decide to walk to the park, and what “terrible” event happens there?

Because he wanted to see if the ducks were still there, and also, he didn't have anyplace else special to go. He dropped and broke Pheobe's record.

12) Why does Holden get upset when he thinks about the two rainy days at the cemetery?

Because it rained on Allie's lousy tombstone and, it rained on the grass of his stomach.

13) What thought motivates Holden to go visit Phoebe?

He started thinking how Pheobe would feel if he got pneumonia and died. After that he decides to visit her.

Monday, November 23, 2009

No, he doesn't think that Stradlater seduced Jane, he was pretty sure about it.

2. What sports does Jane Gallagher enjoy playing?

She enjoys playing tennis and golf.

3. How did Jane Gallagher and Holden get to be friends?

Jane was living next to Holden's house. One day when Jane was laying next to the pool, Holden came to her and said hello to her and they became friends.

4. What kind of books did Jane Gallagher like to read?

She liked reading poetry.

5. Is Jane Gallagher pretty?

Holden thinks that Jane is pretty, but his mother doesn't think she is pretty.

6. What was it that made Jane Gallagher cry when she and Holden were playing checkers?

When they were playing checkers, Jane's stepfather came and asked Jane if she knew where the cigarettes were. Jane didn't answer him though. After he left, Holden asked what was the matter and then she started to cry. But, it doesn't mention, why she actually cried, in the book.

7. How important was necking in Holden’s relationship with Jane Gallagher?

It wasn't important that much. Holden actually liked to hold hands with her, so did Jane.

8. How does Holden know about Ernie’s in Greenwich Village?

Ernie's is a night club, and his brother, D.B., used to go quiet frequently.

9. Who is Ernie?

Ernie is a big fat colored guy who plays piano in the night club.

10. What does Holden find especially irritating about Ernie?

Holden thinks he is a terrific snob and he won't hardly talk to you unless you are a big shot or a celebrity.

Chapter 12

1. What is the main theme of the first paragraph?

The main theme of the paragraph is loneliness. He says it was so lonesome outside even it was Saturday night.

2. How does Holden describe Horwitz’s personality?

Holden thinks he is not a bad guy but he thinks he is touchy and sound angry when he speaks.

3. What does Holden discuss with Horwitz?

They discussed about the ducks in the Central Park, and where would they go when the lake was frozen.

4. How does Holden characterize the patrons at Ernie’s?

Holden says that they were prep school and college jerks.

5. What is it that Holden objects to about the crowd at Ernie’s?

It was pretty quiet at Ernie's because Ernie was playing the piano, and the crowd always clapped whether he played good or bad.

6. Why does Holden feel sorry for Ernie?

Because Holden thinks that Ernie didn't even know whether he played right or not, and it was because of the crowd that always applauded to him whether he played right or not.

7. Describe the conversations going on at tables next to Holden.

At one table, a guy was giving her girlfriend every single play in the whole football game. At the other table, a guy was telling his girlfriend about a guy committing suicide in his dorm, and at the same time he was giving her a feel under the table.

8. Who is Lillian Simmons?

She is a girl that Holden's brother, D.B., used to go on a date with her.

9. From Lillian Simmons’ point of view, what is most impressive about D.B.?

She thinks it was the most impressive that D.B. was a writer in Hollywood.

10. How does Holden feel about such social amenities as saying to someone, “Glad to have met you?”

He doesn't like saying those stuff when he doesn't mean them, but he thinks that to be able to stay alive he had to say those expressions.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Discuss the relationship between Holden and Mr. Spencer. Is it a personal, caring relationship or simply a professional relationship between teacher and student?

I think the relationship between Holden and Mr. Spencer is a personal, caring relationship between a teacher and a student. Because Mr. Spencer is the only person who really cares and worries about Holden. He worries about Holden that he feels absolutely no concern for his future and that he is not going to end up anywhere in his future. He cares about Holden because he wants Holden to be good and en up in good places in his futures.

After Holden gets kicked out of Pencey, he goes to see Mr. Spencer, because Mr. Spencer wanted to talk to him, but actually he goes to see Mr. Spencer because he thinks Mr. Spencer is not phony. When he goes to see Mr. Spencer, they talk about his future, and other things about Holden doesn't care about anything. Mr. Spencer was trying to understand why Holden wasn't caring about school and why doesn't he do things that he is suppose to do. Mr. Spencer was trying to help Holden but Holden doesn't even listen him. He was thinking about the lagoon and the ducks in Central Park, and where would the ducks go when the lake is frozen.

Mr. Spencer had a grippe, he was wearing his bathrobes, and the room smelled like Vicks Nose Drops. Instead of trying to listen Mr. Spencer, Holden was thinking that how depressing it was to see old guy's bumpy chest and their white and unhairy legs, also the smell of Vicks Nose Drops and to sit on a bed that is hard as a rock. Holden wasn't listening to Mr. Spencer because he didn't care about his future. But Mr. Spencer care for him.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

1. What had Mr. Spencer bought and shown the boys when they were visiting him one Sunday?

He had bought an old beat-up Navajo blanket from an Indian in Yellowstone Park.

2. What advice did Dr. Thurmer give to Holden?

He said that life was a game, and it should be played according to the rules.

3. Did Holden agree with Dr. Thurmer’s description of life as a game? Explain your answer.

Holden was thinking that life was a game when you are on the side where all the hot-shots are. But if you are on the side where there aren't any hot-shots, then it is not a game. He means that when there are hot-shots on your side, it is a game between you and them. Without hot-shots life is nothing.

4. Was Pencey Prep really the fourth school from which Holden was asked to leave? Explain your answer.

He said that it was the fourth school he was asked to leave, but at Elkton Hills School, he said that he quit. Because he was surrounded by phonies.

5. What did Holden think about Mr. Spencer’s description of his parents as “grand people”?

He was thinking that his parents were nice people. But he hated the word "grand". Because he was thinking that the word was phony.

6. Why did Holden write Mr. Spencer a note at the end of his examination paper?

He wrote a note that was saying that he didn't know anything about history. He wrote it so that Mr. Spencer wouldn't feel bad about flunking him.

7. What was Holden thinking about while he said the following: “I told him I was a real moron, and all that stuff. I told him how I would’ve done exactly the same thing if I’d been in his place, and how most people didn’t appreciate how tough it is being a teacher.”

He was thinking about where would the ducks when the lagoon in Central Park is frozen.

8. Why did Holden leave Elkton Hills School?

He left Elkton Hills School because he was surrounded by phonies.

9. What excuse did Holden give Mr. Spencer for having to end the visit?

He said that he left some of his equipment at the gym, so he had to get to take it home with him.

10. Holden told Mr. Spencer not to worry about him. What reason did he give for not worrying?

He said that he was going through a phase. Also, he said that everybody goes through phases.

Chapter 3

1. Who is Ossenburger?

He was a student who went to Pencey. He gave Pencey a pile of dough, and the dorm was named as Ossenburger.

2. What was the substance of Ossenburger’s speech?

Holden was thinking that the only good part of his speech was in the middle of it. He was talking about what a swell and hot-shot guy he was.

3. Who are Holden’s favorite authors?

His favorite authors were his brother D.B., and Ring Lardner.

4. How does Holden determine whether a book is outstanding?

He determines the book outstanding when it is funny at least once in a while.

5. What does Ackley usually do when he comes to visit Holden?

There was a shower between the two rooms, so he always comes through the shower curtains.

6. What is it about Ackley that Holden finds annoying?

He finds it annoying when his mouth is full of mashed potatoes or peas. Also he thinks that Ackley didn't have any personality and that he was a nasty guy.

7. Give an example of something which Ackley considered very funny.

He always laughed when a guy gets hit on the head with something.

8. Why does Ackley not like Stradlater?

Because he hated Stradlater's guts. Also, Stradlater said something about brushing his teeth once in a while.

9. What does Holden say in defense of Stradlater?

He said that he was a good guy and generous. Also he said that he didn't say the thing about brushing his teeth to insult him.